1. Field of the Invention
The present invention is directed to the field of devices with which a golfer can practice his or her putting skills. In particular, the present invention is directed to the type of putting stroke developer which provides a target, representing a hole in the green of a golf course, at which golf balls may be putted and to games involving putting skills which use such target devices.
2. Description of Related Art
As is well recognized, putting represents approximately 50% of the total scoring in an 18 hole round of golf on a regulation golf course, so that the ability of a golfer to accurately putt the ball into the hole is critical to success as a golfer. While putting on an actual green or putting green having a regulation golf hole, of course, provides the best practice, for practice at home, the office, or anywhere else away from a golf course or other recreational facility having a putting green, golfers have resorted to a wide range of devices to develop their golf putting stroke, including a tumbler-type glass placed on its side on the floor.
Most devices used as a target for developing one's putting stroke are designed to collect a ball that has been putted. However, many of these devices, due to their configuration or mode of operation, do not give a true indication as to the accuracy of a practice putt, nor do they provide truly meaningful feedback as to the degree to which a putt, that may have been good enough to go into a hole, has deviated from an ideal putt.
In recognition of at least some of the shortcomings of most golf putting practice targets, particularly those of the collecting type, in U.S. Pat. No. 4,429,882 to Stanton, a golf putting target is disclosed that is comprised of a circular base having a diameter that is the same as a hole in the green of a golf course, and a vertical wall that is integral with the base and extends partially around the circumference of the base. The circular base creates an upward sloping ramp that is directed toward the center of the vertical wall and which is flanked on either side of a center line by a ramp that slopes downward toward the respective side of the base. Furthermore, the height of the vertical wall is designed to permit golf balls to jump over it, except at its center where it is high enough to rebound the golf ball if it has not been putt too hard.
As a result, a golf ball putted along the center line of the base of the target of the Stanton patent will travel up the upward slanting ramp surface of the base and contact the vertical wall at the back thereof. From the back of the wall, the ball will be deflected off to one side by one or the other of the downward sloping ramps. On the other hand, a ball that has been putt with insufficient velocity to reach the back wall or which has been inaccurately putted will be diverted to one side by the downwardly sloping ramps and, due to the fact that the back wall tapers downwardly from its midpoint, will jump over the vertical wall, assuming the golf ball does not miss it entirely
While the golf putting target of the Stanton patent can be useful in developing a golfer's putting skills, it can prove frustrating to the less accomplished putter. Furthermore, a golf putting target of the type disclosed in this patent does not provide sufficient feedback to the putter as to the extent that his putt has deviated from the exact line and force of putt required for an optimized holing of a ball on an actual green, and it is not readily adaptable to use in the playing of a game involving putting.
Golf putting practice devices are also known which combine a rebounding element, at which a ball is putt, and a putting surface element on which it is disposed, indicia by which the quality of the putt can be evaluated from its rebound being provided on the surface element. Examples of such devices are shown in U.S. Pat. No. 3,342,495 to Wasley and U.S. Pat. No. 4,368,888 to Ren. In the Wasley patent, a practice putting device is disclosed wherein a spring is placed across the mouth of a half cup at a height which will cause a ball putted so as to enter the half cup to impact, instead, against the spring and rebound in a direction and for a distance that is a function of the direction and force of the putt. A foam mat to which the half cup is attached has an area marked in front of the half cup which is intended to reflect that a ball stopping in that area would have remained in a standard golf cup, while a rebound beyond that area indicates that the ball would have jumped the standard cup and continued rolling.
In an analogous manner, the golf putting device of the Ren patent affixes a rebounding block to a putting strip. The rebounding block has a layer of heavy, dense material positioned high enough to be struck by the ball and produce an enhanced rebound action. Distance markings are provided on the upper surface of the putting strip for correlating the quality of the putt with the distance of the rebound. The rebound block has a number of planar faces of different widths and the block can be rotatably adjusted so as to bring any one of these faces into a position normal to the path of a golf ball caused to roll along the strip by the putter.
While both of these devices may be amenable to use in playing games involving putting, neither of these devices, whether used merely for individual practice or as a competitive game, are able to provide a truly accurate indication as to whether or not a putt would have been successful inasmuch as no feedback is provided to the putter pertaining to the relative degree of accuracy of the line of the putt. Moreover, versatility of the devices of these patents is constrained by the fact that their rebounding element is not independently usable without the putting mat or strip upon which it is mounted.
Thus, there is still a need for a device that can be used, by itself, to develop one's putting stroke through the provision of feedback as to the putter's proficiency with respect to both the line and force of putt, or with a putting mat bearing appropriate indicia that can be used to heighten the degree of feedback information and/or serve for use in playing of a competitive putting game.